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Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Visio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...
Ranking in Business Process Design
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (2nd)
Visio
Ranking in Business Process Design
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Mind Mapping Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 10.5%, down from 12.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visio is 12.5%, down from 13.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

Milan Sterba - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient documentation generation through organized model structure with a good price-performance ratio
Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward. Although it's a powerful product with plenty of features, it's not easy for even experienced users to find their way without guidance. This is not the most user-friendly solution.
Tugrul TASCI - PeerSpot reviewer
We have seen return on investment in the form of time savings but should have more design tools
I am generally using Visio to create some diagrams Visio should implement more complex tools or graphics to facilitate processing and use flexible templates. It should allow users to easily drag and drop some previously created diagrams. The tools supplied or provided are very basic, and there…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It is a very flexible product. It can do a lot. It is also a reliable product."
"The solution is easy to use, supports SysML and UML, and is able to connect to MATLAB. This is very important for us."
"It is an EA tool that is approved by Open Group. It is in the tool register of Open Group."
"It is a handy tool for visual modeling that provides opportunities for analysis, design, and support of models using ArchiMate, UML."
"Sparx technical support is good."
"It is a useful tool for modeling and testing automated processes."
"I like that there is support for software patterns."
"Scalability is not a problem. You can always increase the footprint of what the thing can do because it's so powerful."
"The most valuable feature is how easy it is to use."
"The main reason I choose Visio is that it is easy to use. The user interface is familiar and straightforward. Additionally, it offers a variety of templates, such as those for Cisco solutions, which make it easy to create diagrams for specific use cases. For example, we use a Cisco Meraki switch and we can find the exact template for it, then we can easily drop in the components and connect the cables to create the diagram."
"The valuable feature about Visio is it has all the basic tools for creating processes."
"This is a very straightforward product and I don't think that anything needs to be simplified."
"I find the control flow and settings features valuable."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"Overall, Visio is stable for my needs."
"It's a very flexible solution."
 

Cons

"The dashboard and connectivity could be improved."
"Weak in regards to data modelling. No logical or physical modelling or migration from conceptual to physical."
"It could be more user-friendly. The tools could be more simple to use. It's a very complex solution. Because I am a business analyst, I use these tools to manage requirements, and I make models in UML, BPMN, and ArchiMate, and it's complex. In the next release, I would like to see more integrations."
"There should be a MATLAB-specific toolbox added to the solution with better compatibility. The connections currently are good but in the future, it needs a huge improvement."
"The areas of improvement should be focused on utility service such as producing better graphics, perhaps having a wider image library set and producing better models for working directly with customers."
"The Portfolio Management features can be added in the next release. As it helps you to manage more portfolio of projects and architectures of cost projects on a portfolio level. This would be an important feature in the next release."
"The documentation could be better. Where I work, we speak French and we don't speak English, so we don't have anything in French. It's perfect in English, but we need something in French."
"One room for improvement in Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is that it's not very friendly. Another room for improvement in the tool is that it doesn't enable you to import the metadata from a database very easily, so reverse engineering of a database was very difficult. Its database modeling and entity-relationship modeling functions need improvement."
"It requires a lot of skill to get into it."
"I would like to see included in the next release is the implementation of web publishing."
"It does not integrate well with other solutions."
"Microsoft should include Visio as part of their Office 365 offering."
"In terms of enterprise architecture, Visio is limited."
"The product only functions well professionally, with adding additional software for configuration."
"The solution's initial setup was a bit complex for me."
"Visio could improve by simplifying the application to allow the business user more understanding. This will allow us to bring the solution deeper into the organization for use. It can be difficult to navigate and some users tend to rely on third-party applications for auditing, compliance, and policy configuration."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is no license required for this solution."
"This product has a paid license, with a yearly subscription option."
"Pricing and licensing is very attractive, simple, and straightforward."
"It’s the best deal in town, by far."
"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
"We have an annual license, and it's very affordable."
"Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is priced well. The price we pay is approximately $20 per month. Other solutions I have found to be much more expensive."
"It's affordable. The only additional cost that we haven't yet figured out is the floating license. If you buy a floating license, you have to have a license management server, which comes at an additional cost that's not discussed. So, we haven't yet used the floating license. That’s because I haven't had a chance to figure that out."
"While I don't recall the exact price I do recall that it was quite high."
"We have an enterprise license. I'm not sure what the cost is."
"Cloud-based tools are always cheaper since they are subscription-based. I use the on-premises version of Visio hence the price is quite expensive. However, I believe that the cloud version of Visio may not be as expensive as the on-premises version."
"It's not the cheapest product, but it's extremely valuable."
"There is a licensing fee, but it is fairly priced."
"It is a free solution for us. It is integrated with our pack. We are trying to use the solutions that we already have."
"There are some cheaper as well as free solutions."
"Our license for Visio is including with the Office 365 subscription."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Educational Organization
12%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
The stability has been good and satisfactory. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
One of the reasons many public sector institutions in the Czech Republic use it is that it provides a very good price-performance ratio. While it might be cumbersome to learn, it still delivers exc...
What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward. Although it's a powerful product with plenty of features, it's not ...
How easy is it to migrate process flow charts (modeled using tools like Visio) into Bizagi?
I have been using Bizagi with a major project for a state government agency for about four years now. It is pretty straightforward to load in files that are BPMN 2.0 compliant. The option to load V...
What do you like most about Visio?
The diagrams Visio creates are quite impressive in the sense that we can cooperate with more colleagues in one task and see the flow of the process.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visio?
One of the main problems with Visio is its licensing options and associated issues, which lead to discussions about the price with a Microsoft representative. If asked to rate the price, I would gi...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft Visio
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

OmniLink
Thomas College, Hamburg Port Authority, Portigon AG, Conseil G_n_ral du d_partement des Hautes-Alpes, AAA Auto a. s., Commonwealth Financial Network, ICA, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company
Find out what your peers are saying about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs. Visio and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.